April 26 : Jannik Sinner held onto his world number one ranking ahead of his return from a three-month doping ban, but the Italian does not expect his comeback to be as smooth when he takes to the court again at the Rome Masters next month.
Sinner has not played since winning the Australian Open at the start of the season and accepted a ban in February following a deal with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which had challenged a tribunal’s decision to clear him after two positive tests.
The 23-year-old was allowed to return to training on April 13 and his suspension will end on May 4, before his competitive return at the Italian Open, which gets underway three days later.
Sinner, who spent time building fitness mindful of the French Open starting on May 25, was assured of retaining the top ranking for his home tournament after his closest challenger Alexander Zverev crashed to an early defeat in Monte Carlo.
“We’re training very hard. Hopefully we’ll get some momentum going again ahead of the clay season. It certainly won’t be easy for me,” Sinner told broadcaster ORF Sudtirol.
“The first games will be really difficult. But hopefully I’ll be able to get back into the rhythm and then we’ll see how it goes.”
Sinner, who trained with Britain’s world number six Jack Draper at the Tennis Club de Beaulieu in France recently, said there were plenty of positives from his enforced absence from the tour.
“I think at the beginning of the three months, it was quite nice,” Sinner added.
“A bit of time away from all the grind, I spent time with family, with friends. I was doing new things and getting to know myself better, finding out where I stand.
“I think it helped me a lot.”
Sinner does not expect easy road on return from doping ban
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Sinner does not expect easy road on return from doping ban
- Sinner was assured of retaining the top ranking for his home tournament after his closest challenger crashed to an early defeat
- Sinner said there were plenty of positives from his enforced absence from the tour
Pakistan legend Akram hails ‘incredible’ Starc after Ashes heroics
- Australia’s Mitchell Starc surpassed Akram’s tally of 414 test wickets during Brisbane match against England
- Akram says despite being 35, Starc can “go on and on” due to his passion for cricket and fiery pace bowling
KARACHI: Legendary Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram believes even more is to come from Australia’s “incredible” veteran Ashes wrecking ball Mitchell Starc.
Akram was reacting to Starc surpassing his tally of 414 wickets during the Brisbane Test against England on Thursday, becoming the leading left-arm pace bowler of all time.
“Congratulations to Starc on passing my tally of wickets,” Akram told AFP, saying that the 35-year-old’s passion and commitment helped set him apart.
“Starc has shown a great amount of dedication and focus in these times of too much cricket, having T20 leagues with big money coming your way.
“He did play T20 leagues but then decided to play more Tests and left the shorter format because he wanted to be remembered as one of the best in the world in the history of the game.
“Ten years down the line, if anyone decides to have an all-time Test team, then Starc will be named in that team for sure.”
Despite trumping Akram, Starc described the Pakistan great as the “pinnacle.”
“Wasim’s still a far better bowler than I am,” Starc said on Thursday.
Akram dismissed the debate over who is the greatest.
“It is difficult to compare both of us because we are from different eras,” he said. “People say that I played on placid tracks and he played on bouncy Aussie tracks, so that was different.
“But nowadays batters have a different mindset and they play aggressive shots even on good balls, so that makes wicket-taking a more difficult art.”
Akram said he believed Starc’s passion could take him further.
“He is 35 and his pace is still there and passion remains at its peak. He has been incredible as a fast bowler and is enjoying fast bowling, so can go on and on.”
